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Shockwave and Buzzkill plot
Shockwave says, "Buzzkill, report to me in Trypticon's Security room immediately." Astrotrain says, "Dun dun DUNNN." Buzzkill says, "Yes, sir." Buzzkill enters from the Command Center to the east. Buzzkill has arrived. The security room is dark. The only illumination are the dozens of monitors positioned in a semi-circle at the far end. The flickering displays show Brunt working to repair a Seeker that got too close to the Autobot base, numerous external views of Trypticon from a multitude of angles, two Decepticons chatting in a hallway, with an automatic transcript of the conversation being recorded for the Ministry of Peace, and much, much more. The command centre, where soldiers dutifully keep Trypticon functioning, the training room, where a mass brawl is taking place, the communication tower, where a Decepticon is writing a personal letter to a friend stationed on some far off world. In the centre of the room is Shockwave, only partly visible thanks to the monitors. He appears to be seated facing the wall of monitors, but most of his body can't readily be seen. There's a lot of whirling noises in the room, making it sound like complicated heavy machinery is at work. The room is otherwise empty of visitors, and the bay window has been darkened. It's not long after Shockwave makes his request when Buzzkill walk into the darkened room. Damn, she's timely! And a little unnerved (as anyone would be if Shockwave were to summon them to a creepy, dark room devoid of anything except privacy-destroying monitors) but she's far too professional to show it. She drops to a knee and bows her head respectfully before speaking. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Shockwave doesn't turn towards Buzzkill, instead remaining motionless. As the Insecticon draws closer, she'll be able to get a better look. Heavy machinery hangs down from the ceiling. Six thin robotic arms, each with a different mechanical tool at the end of it, is working on Shockwave's entirely exposed torso. Perhaps Scattershot and Grimlock did more damage to Shockwave than he let on in his report. The whirling comes from the arms as they move about, attaching small devices to Shockwave's chest, wielding circuitry into place, cleaning up the red dirt that found its way into his wounds, or removing old and damaged components. There's faint sparks that appear with each application. Finally, Shockwave speaks, "Your function within the Insecticons is noted as 'worker'. Vague and unhelpful, but entirely expected from the insufficient intelligence the Ministry has on your mercenary group." However absorbed into the faction the Insecticons may be, Shockwave always remembers their roots. "Tell me, what is your function?" On one of the monitors, the camera zooms in to capture the content of the letter being sent out. Buzzkill considers Shockwave a pretty burly, powerful guy so seeing him in the state he's in is a little disturbing to her. It's also enraging to know that a few crappy, inferior Autobots were capable of doing this sort of thing, but that's a thought better saved for later. Still kneeling, she listens to Shockwave's words and contemplates the best way to answer him. "My function is to serve my superiors in any way I can," she states, lifting her head to stare intently at Shockwave and the crazy machine whirring away above him. "No matter the task, it's my duty to see it done." Her gaze slowly drifts to the monitor showing the random Decepticon soldier and his letter. She makes a mental note to find and berate him for wasting his time with something so outdated. Send an e-mail, damnit, it's the year twenty thirty something. Shockwave still doesn't turn, though at least now the reason is obvious. His torso, devoid of armour, makes him look shockingly frail and thin. The circuitry within is intricate and complex. In the middle of it is the strange, alien nuclear reactor that powers him, which the robotic arms avoid as if their 'lives' depends on it. On the monitor showing the letter writing Decepticon, in the bottom right corner flashes a quick message that the contents are being sent to MSE for the robot's psych profile to be updated, to DCI for internal information leak prevention, to the Ministry of Peace for loyalty reclassification, and to Soundwave. Soundwave gets a copy so he can blackmail the hell out of everyone. Apparently satisfied with Buzzkill's stated display of subservience, Shockwave proceeds. A new image suddenly sweeps across the wall of monitors, replacing the individual pictures. It shows a familiar metal construct that consists of a huge ring, sort of like a doughnut. The 3D image gets rotated around as technical specifications are displayed. "In 2016, I oversaw the construction of a variant spacebridge, specially designed to be portable. It could be dismantled and constructed within an astro-day. Originally stationed in the asteroid belt during a time when the Empire did not have a foothold on Earth, it fell out of use as additional permanent spacebridges were brought online, including the significantly more mobile Trypticon." The image of the spacebridge is swept away, replaced with the planetary core-shaft room in the underground alien base. "What do you know of this facility and the work I have been conducting here?" Buzzkill always thought the space bridges were a great idea. The only thing she would've changed about them is maybe add some sentries to shoot down all the Autobot's that were constantly going back and forth between them. Or hell, maybe even an armed guard or two would've done the job. Buzzkill rises to her feet and ventures a few steps forward, the light emanating from the wall of screens washing out the glow of her optic band. "I know only what I have read from the reports, sir." Which basically means 'nothing'. Shockwave would sympathize with those ideas, but sadly back when this was relevant the Empire had a lot less resources to spend on such luxuries. The robot arms pause in their work and circle around Shockwave. Their tools transform into scanners as they complete the rotation. The whirling stops as the machinery calculates another diagnosis based on how the work is proceeding. Then, just as quickly as it stopped, the repair work begins anew. Given the room, Shockwave must have had all this equipment installed here. Perhaps he decided the medical ward wasn't sufficient for him to continue his work. Even in the middle of surgery, Shockwave's attention is devoted to furthering the Decepticon cause. "The reports contain all you need to know," Shockwave declares. "I sought a way to reignite the planet's core. It is an impossible task that Galvatron has set upon me." Always, Shockwave says that name as if the Decepticon leader were, at best, an equal. Never is Galvatron spoken of with the respect that Megatron once had. "I realized, during my battle with Scattershot, that I had made an error. The planetary core shaft room is designed to draw energy from a molten core. Mars's core is no longer molten. Thus, we had to make it so in order to reactivate the machine. I'm sure you see the faulty logic." Much in the way the image of the spacebridge was swept away, so too is the alien room. The new image lights up the entire security room, bathing it in bright yellow. It is the sun. Buzzkill can't help but admire Shockwave and his devotion to the Empire. The guy's chest is practically nonexistant at this point and even though he's pretty much half-way through a surgery he STILL manages to be as productive as ever. Damn, that's impressive. When the monitors change to show the image of the sun, Buzzkill's lip twitches just slightly, completely ruining the serious, straight-faced expression she was wearing up until that point. She's preeetttyyy sure she knows where Shockwave is going with this but can't be certain (the guy is like an engima sometimes.) "I suppose you found a solution involving the sun, sir?" "Correct," Shockwave intones. With the room illuminated, it's now easy to see how bad the damage was. Grimlock only had a few seconds with Shockwave, but Scattershot had significantly more. His sonic, acid, and thermal shells cracked his exterior armour, and his megavolt cannon scored several hits that punched through the weakened sections. A particularly nasty wound, attended to by half of the robotic arms, is present on his left side. Exposed wiring and circuit boards jut out of his torso, but abruptly end in an uneven gash. A small stain is barely visible on the deck from where the leaks have pooled. The monitors split into three groups, with the left displaying the spacebridge, the middle displaying the planetary core shaft room, and the right displaying the sun. The lighting in the room is much more comfortable now with this change. "Your task, Buzzkill, is to oversee the modification and construction of the portable spacebridge to a) function in space, b) tolerate intense heat, c) siphon a small percentage of the sun's energy through it to the core, where another spacebridge terminal will be constructed. Mechpower and resources will not be an obstacle for you." Shockwave raises his head a few degrees. It is the first movement he's made in the past forty-six breems. "The aliens' technology cannot function on a dead core, but bringing new energy to it is the next best thing." With the increased light, Buzzill is able to better see damage Shockwave is sporting and wow, it's pretty bad. Or awesome, if you're Scattershot. It's really hard not to just gawk and stare but Buzzkill manages to keep her focus on the matter at hand and turns her attention back to the monitors. The assignment given to her is a little is a little intimdating, what with it coming from someone like Shockwave, but the excitement of being trusted with such a task far outweighs that feeling and Buzzkill finds herself forcing back a grin. "I will make sure the space bridge is completed to your specifications, sir." Shockwave neither turns to see where Buzzkill is staring, nor does he react to it. One might think he simply doesn't know, but then the wave passes over the wall of monitors again, returning them to their previous status. The Decepticon in the comm tower has finished his letter and applied a cyber-seal. Brunt and his patient are now chitchatting, with the transcript being recorded and filed in a half dozen databanks. A trio of Sweeps coming in from patrol transform outside of Trypticon and head on inside, with display pop-ups registering their names and time of arrival. The command centre has a briefing of assorted Decepticons, led by Spinister. A Cassetticon glances around in the armoury before swiping an additional unauthorized ammunition magazine, causing the databanks' inventory to automatically tick down by one. Sure, maybe Shockwave doesn't know. With the sun no longer displayed, the room is cast in darkness again. The mechanical whirling starts up again. "Good," Shockwave replies. "You have one earth week to complete your task. Keep me apprised of your progress." Shockwave performs several billion calculations in his mind, determining the best way to motivate Buzzkill into excellence. Some Decepticons require threats. Some require coaxing and encouragement. Some require high powered plasma blasts to the head. Buzzkill, however, he senses is motivated by a sense of duty not normally seen in Decepticons, much less the Insecticons. Thus, he adds nothing. Apparently he's done with her? With all the hustle and bustle of every day life, it's easy to forget that literally every single little thing you do or say is not only constantly monitored but also recorded and saved for who even knows what horrible purposes? It's like Big Brother up on this bitch. After being in this room, Buzzkill is going to make damn sure she is always on her best behavior. ALWAYS.After Shockwave gives her the deadline, Buzzkill responds with a salute. "It shall be done." She thinks that maybe there might be more coming but once that awkward silence settles in she's quick to depart. Buzzkill vanishes out of reality. Buzzkill has left.